travel insurance

SAGA Holidays include the insurance in their holiday price, which being over a certain age I have found very useful.

Has anyone had to use travel insurance, following cancer? My husband has had surgery and radiotherapy for throat and neck cancer. Hopefully this has sorted it as it was caught early. We want to get away at the beginning of July, which will be 12 weeks after finishing the treatment. We've found a list of firms that do insurance for a 'pre-existing condition' but don't know anyone who's actually used any of them. We just want to go somewhere in Europe or a Med cruise.

Can I just add a warning : although insurance is included you should phone up and come clean about any medical problems you have or you might find you are not covered. Also mention if any close relative is in a bad way. We get free cover with our banks account but I just paid £60 to-day to make sure I am properly covered and £30 for my husband. This does cover us for 12 months . Sadly the free insurance stops at 70 . Do take out the European Health Insurance cards with covers you up to a limit for care in Europe and this is free. I noticed in Austria last year quite a few of the local doctors stated that they did not accept these cards. Perhaps skiing accidents made them do this.
After having breast cancer I just excluded that from my cover as I thought that if there was a problem I had time to come home to see about it.

Co-incidently two people on the same day also said they had their insurance through the bank and they had health issues as well. Other firms that we tried would only give us one trip policies and then only for certain areas, but we've now got annual cover for anywhere in the world. We disclosed all problems and they were very helpful. That weekend we booked a Mediterranean cruise and stay holiday. Things are really looking up.

We've always used Direct Travel and changed between European or Worldwide cover each year depending on out holiday plans.

Of course the cost increases every year!

Eleannore is so right..all existing health issues must be declared. We have a yearly holiday policy with John Lewis...it works out cheaper than single trip ones in the long run as husband has to declare a slight problem.

DH and I are over 65. DH has had cancer. We use Essential Travel and as we go to Europe frequently we buy insurance for the year for travel in Europe and find it very reasonable compared with others. Strangely, the likes of Saga etc., who purport to assist us lot, are more expensive than most.

Try Tesco travel insurance. I have a number of health issues, always declared, and have always been insured for a good price.

I have travel insurance through the bank. Most annoying is that I have to pay a supplement for anything over a month. If I am going to New Zealand, I always want to spend at least six weeks there, to make the arduous trip worthwhile.

Check out the Macmillan website for a list of recommended travel insurance companies which offer cover to people with cancer. Some companies ask for a letter to be faxed by your oncologist to say that he/she is happy for you to travel, along with a brief description of your current state of health and any medication you are taking.

The Dept of Health website will give details of what medications you can take to the destination country, as some Customs officials are suspicious of drugs (get a letter from your doctor to state that your meds are legal).

Message deleted by Gransnet.

When I was still on Tamoxifen, travel insurance was high, especially to the USA, but now it's OK. But, as gangy says, do tell them about recent check ups etc.

We are with the Post Office for some reason - think DH picked up a leaflet and found it very competitive.

My mum is 78 and insured with the AA. It was almost half the price of those quoted by Age UK and M&S. She found a lot of companies wouldn't cover her because she was going to Australia for 110 days. Most would only offer cover up to 90 days.

vampirequeen - get your mum to check her house insurance before she goes as if it is left empty for over a certain number of days it may not be covered....

Yes we've covered that. I have to go and live in her house for several days whilst she's away so it's not left empty for too long.

We too buy annual travel insurance, but let it lapse at the end of the year, then rebuy immediately prior to paying the deposit for the the next holiday. Each time I shop around on the net to find who is offering the cheapest annual insurance. We have several health issues which have to be declared (and this ups the cost of course) and the medical questions asked are standard whichever company we use - and the extra cost is always the same - so it obviously standardised between the companies.

We are insured through our bank but have to pay a bit extra as my husband has been very ill and has a chronic condition.
Can I please Implore everyone to make sure they tell their insurers everything - however minor. a few years ago my husband was taken ill in America and unbeknown to me had a minor pre- existing condition which he had been told was nothing to worry about. We dd eventually get the insurance company to pay up but we had quite a worrying time and had to employ a very fancy lawyer ( who felt sorry for us and didn't bill us at the proper rate).
My husband was in hospital for four weeks and the bills were over £250,000 and we were getting threatening letters from a US debt collector.
We know someone who had pneumonia in Spain and didn't have insurance or an EHIC and he is paying off the bills.
Travel safe!

We are only going to France but one of us if have hospital treatment and the other is waiting to see a consultant. What a performance! Questions by the dozen for each minor complaint etc. Saga absolutely refused to quote.

Eventually got insurance through Age UK (was Age Concern I think) but the conditions needing hospital treatment and the condition waiting to be diagnosed were both excluded. Saga wouldn't even do that. And the conditions were not anything really serious but the seriousness did not matter - just the fact that a hospital or a consultant were involved triggers a refusal.

I think this leads to the potential danger of people putting off going to the doctor because they are soon going to want holiday insurance ! Not good.

We were advised to go through a broker if we had no joy. My questioning friends suggests you really do need a broker if you are over 80.

We were talking to a French insurance agent a week or so ago and he tells us that you should not worry in France as long as you have the European health card - replaced the 111. If you have an accident in the car etc you will be treated and not given a bill and if you are seriously ill he said that you will be treated and the Uk will pay the bill. We were discussing with the man if there was a suitable top up insurance for us until we are in the position to join the French system. At the moment we pay ourselves for visiting the GP and for any blood tests and medication and send forms in to the local health board here - it is never worth claiming from a travel policy for that is you normally have an excess more than you have paid out.
It is certainly true the other way round - a few years ago people in the French system with no rights by contributions to the UK system were in UK when he had a serious fall and was hospitalised for a couple of months. France repaid the UK. The only problem arose when the medics in Uk wanted him to remain for rehabilitation and France insisted he return to France for it - which he did.

I have private insurance here in Cyprus which covers me for treatment any where in the world,I am going to Australia and only want baggage insurance,any tips please.

I recently used Rock travel who are specifically for the over 50's and its renewable on a yearly basis. I used to go to Australia frequently but my son has moved back with us now